Can You Freeze Cheddar Cheese?

By S. A. Holt

Cheese bargains come and go, but how can you take advantage of low prices on cheese by buying in bulk? Well, by freezing your cheese, of course. Although cheese can last quite a while in the refrigerator, freezing is the best solution for long term storage of hard and semi-hard cheeses like cheddar.Need a shorter term solution? Wrapping your cheese properly for the refrigerator is the best insurance against mold, slime and discoloration.

Step 1

Make the judgment call. Although you can certainly freeze cheddar and many other cheeses, there will be an unavoidable change in texture. Defrosted hard and semi-hard cheeses can be mealy and flaky. They can also sometimes feel powdery and grainy. For cooking, this probably won't be a problem, but if you're planning on serving a previously frozen cheese as an appetizer with fruit or on crackers, you might want to just let it grow a little mold in the refrigerator and cut the offending fuzzy stuff off before serving.

Step 2

Pick your size. Freeze your cheddar in a size and style, like finely shredded, that is consistent with how you'll be using it later. Although you can freeze cheddar in blocks, you will have to thaw the whole block, which might not work well with your plans, particularly if you buy in bulk.

Step 3

Select suitable wrapping. For sliced cheddar, be sure to separate the slices with waxed paper. If it came pre-packaged, fine. If not, slice and place the wax paper separators in yourself. That way it will be much easier to get the slices separated after defrosting.

Step 5

Step 6

Store a semi-hard cheese like cheddar for no longer than six months, less time if you open and close your freezer often or have had a power failure that resulted in loss of power for longer than an hour.

Step 7

Take advantage of the freezing process. There is actually a benefit to freezing cheddar cheese. It's easier to grate that way. This works particularly well with narrow ends that are hard to hold onto when grating Just throw them in the freezer for an hour beforehand.